2011 WSBK Aragon Sunday Round Up - Momentum Shifts
Submitted by David Emmett on
There is a rather pleasing symmetry to Max Biaggi's victory in race two at Aragon: it meant that Biaggi's win rate in the first half of the season was 0%, but is 100% in the second half of the season. Of course, the second half of the 2011 World Superbike season is exactly one race old - the 13-round WSBK season has 26 races, and race two was the 14th race of the season - rather flattering his 100% win rate, but that won't diminish the psychological impact of the reigning champion's first win this season coming right in the middle of the season.
Biaggi can rightly regard this as a turning point; after a long season where nothing has gone his way, finally everything worked out for the Alitalia Aprilia rider. Most of all, Biaggi finally managed to ride a perfect race, free of the errors that have been so costly so far this season. Even in race 1, Biaggi managed to fritter away the lead, running wide in the final hairpin with just 5 laps left to go and gifting Marco Melandri the win, Biaggi finally succumbing to the pressure which Melandri had so exquisitely applied. But in race two, Biaggi turned the tables on the Yamaha man, tightening the thumbscrews on Melandri from the front, until eventually Melandri crumbled, losing the front - and then getting it back again with a most spectacular save - and running wide, rejoining 5 seconds behind the Aprilia and out of reach.
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